Jennifer Nichols graduated from the University of San Diego, where she majored in marine chemistry.

She was on track to become a Navy pilot before a series of shoulder problems derailed those plans. Nichols completed her five-year Navy career as a lieutenant while serving at the National/Naval Ice Center in Washington, D.C.

There, she analyzed ice samples (there’s a need for such work, she said) from the Great Lakes and oceans around the world — providing information for the armed forces of the United States and its allies.

Nowadays, Nichols, 33, owns and operates Buy Me Cake, a Burlington cake and cupcake business. Her current vocation, she said, isn’t as far removed from her previous endeavors as some might believe.

“Baking and chemistry go hand in hand,” Nichols said. “You have to be very precise.”

In both endeavors, she said, you have to include the exact amounts of a particular ingredient or you’re in a world of trouble. Baking, Nichols said, isn’t like cooking where you can adjust the recipe with a dash of this or a hint of that.

No, when it comes to baking, precision matters.

“Add too much baking powder,” Nichols said, speaking from the voice of experience, “and you’ll have runny cupcakes all over the place.”

Buy Me Cake is at 2948 S. Church St., in a small string of shops in front of Country Club Lanes West, just south of Burlington Honda.

Nichols opened the 1,100-square-foot store two years ago after working out of her house the previous three years. The last year she worked from home, Nichols took orders for, and prepared more than 70 wedding cakes.

She joked that until she moved the operation to a store, her oldest son didn’t know a garage was intended for cars.

“He thought you just kept baking items there,” Nichols said.

Nichols and her husband, Jason, a Greensboro police officer, have two sons — Kaleb, 9, and Griffin, 6. Nichols is a native of Petersburg, Va., who attended the University of San Diego on a Navy scholarship. Her husband is a native of Jamestown. The two met in San Diego, where Jason was stationed in the Navy.

Nichols said she’d cooked and baked most of her life, but got especially interested in baking after preparing a cake for Kaleb’s first birthday. The cake turned out well, Nichols said, and she began wondering if there was a market for the work.

She found there was, staying constantly on the go. Asked the slow time of year, Nichols replied, “There is none.”

It’s a nice predicament to have, with sales booming despite a recession that has adversely affected so many other businesses.

Page 2 of 2 - Nichols said her business sells far more cupcakes than cakes, but said most of her profit comes from cakes. Prices for a cake start at $30 for an 8-inch round. The majority sell for $30 to $80. Nichols has also baked and sold wedding cakes costing as much as $1,000.

Her cupcakes sell for $1.75 apiece. On Valentine’s Day, Nichols and her workers prepared and sold more than 1,000 of the little creations. Each is served in its own box. Nichols remembered a customer telling her she could sell them cheaper if she ditched the boxes.

She said she kindly informed her critic the cost of the cupcakes isn’t the result of the price of the box, but the ingredients that go into them. Like the cakes and everything else sold at Buy Me Cake, the cupcake ingredients are all fresh.

“It’s not a cake mix, it’s not shipped in frozen,” Nichols said. “It’s all made from scratch.”

She said because of those ingredients, her goodies weigh more than those sold at many of her competitors. Butter, for instance, weighs more than oil. Nichols said she’s had customers pick up their cake boxes and wonder aloud if she’s placed bricks inside.

“I’ve had wedding cakes that weighed as much as 60 pounds,” Nichols said.

Nichols said she’s her own worst critic — observant of every flaw no matter how minute.

“The customers still love it,” she said of her finished products. “They see the whole thing. I only see the little pieces.”

One of Nichols’ longtime customers is Graham’s Jessica Hogan, who has been buying from her since she operated her business out of her house. Hogan said she always buys birthday cakes for her 4-year-old daughter, Mattie, from Nichols.

“Her cakes are always the centerpiece of the party,” Hogan said. “Everyone wants to know who made them.”

She said she typically gives Nichols an idea of what she’s looking for in a cake, but said she also gives her some latitude to create what she wants.

“I let her do her thing,” Hogan said. “She’s awesome. It’s amazing what she pulls off.”

Nichols said her business has led to many new acquaintances and friends like Hogan. Most of her customers are repeat, she said, spreading word of her delicacies to their loved ones.

Nichols said her business success has led to her often being recognized outside the shop.

“I’ll go to the grocery store and people will say, ‘Oh, you’re the cupcake lady,’” Nichols said.

Steve Huffman can be reached at shuffman@thetimesnews.com or 336-506-3045.